China's DianFengYaoGuai is first team eliminated from M7 World Championship

The Mobile Legends: Bang Bang M7 World Championship is underway, and China is the first country to get eliminated from the massive tournament. 

At first, this sounds like a big shock. China has a strong mobile esports scene and it seems like they'd thrive in MLBB. However, there are a few factors that gave China’s DianFengYaoGuai (DFYG) a disadvantage. 

Why is China struggling in Mobile Legends: Bang Bang? 

The first thing to remember is that China's mobile esports scene is more focused on Honor of Kings. This game is massive in China, even breaking viewership records. The KPL Grand Finals had the most in-person attendees of any esports event in history. I was lucky enough to be there and it was an electrifying experience thanks to the passion of the audience and the intensity of the presentation. 

On the other hand, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang didn't even launch in China until January 2025. This gave other countries a massive advantage in the scene, especially since countries like Indonesia and the Philippines have quite obsessive fandoms for the mobile MOBA. 

The other issue was DFYG's strange decision to not scrim when the team landed in Indonesia. DFYG player Kenneth "Super Kenn" Marcello admitted that the team didn't practice with other teams, but nobody is exactly sure why that decision was made. 

Refusing to scrim despite the country being behind in the scene led to DFYG's 2-0 defeat at the hands of Alter Ego. This Indonesian team had three back-to-back wins, allowing them to qualify for the next stage.